New, improved human-operated and robotic submarines promise to give scientists access to most of the ocean floor, a place less explored than the moon or Mars

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DEEPGLIDER:

This autonomous Deepglider—developed by Charles Eriksen, an oceanographer at the University of Washington in Seattle, and his colleagues—is low-energy: it propels itself through the ocean using changes in buoyancy for thrust.....[
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DEEPGLIDER:

This autonomous Deepglider—developed by Charles Eriksen, an oceanographer at the University of Washington in Seattle, and his colleagues—is low-energy: it propels itself through the ocean using changes in buoyancy for thrust. It is also relatively lightweight and, unlike some of the other robotic vehicles, can be launched without a crane. Sensors on the exterior of the glider, which is free-swimming and self-piloted, collect data including salinity and temperature, and then transmit the information back to shore via satellite. The first Deepglider, pictured here, spent up to 38 days in the ocean at one stretch and dove 1.7 miles (2,700 meters) before it was lost at sea last September.* Eriksen is currently testing a new prototype, which he hopes will be able to withstand pressure in water 3.7 miles (6,000 meters) deep.

*Correction (4/09/09): This article originally stated that the first Deepglider spent more than seven months in the ocean at one stretch.

SENTRY:

The newest deep submergence AUV from Woods Hole, Sentry, can dive three miles (5,000 meters) below the surface. The vehicle is highly maneuverable—unlike some previous robotic vehicles, it can start, stop, turn, and move backward and forward—and can navigate through the steep, rocky deep-sea terrain on its own.....[
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SENTRY:

The newest deep submergence AUV from Woods Hole, Sentry, can dive three miles (5,000 meters) below the surface. The vehicle is highly maneuverable—unlike some previous robotic vehicles, it can start, stop, turn, and move backward and forward—and can navigate through the steep, rocky deep-sea terrain on its own. Launched last year, Sentry has already proved particularly useful for conducting detailed deepwater geographic surveys; it uses sonar and photo-mapping programs to create maps of the seafloor at resolutions of less than three feet (one meter).

NEREUS:

One of the deepest-diving machines ever developed, Nereus, is Woods Hole's new hybrid ocean vehicle, which is capable of operating in two modes: tethered to a ship, like a traditional ROV, and on its own, like the newer AUVs.....[
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NEREUS:

One of the deepest-diving machines ever developed, Nereus, is Woods Hole's new hybrid ocean vehicle, which is capable of operating in two modes: tethered to a ship, like a traditional ROV, and on its own, like the newer AUVs. Because it can toggle between two modes, Nereus will be able to conduct a huge range of tasks on and near the deep ocean floor, including mapping, collecting rock and sediment samples, capturing small organisms, sampling water and ocean chemistry, and taking photos and videos. Nereus is set to go on its first scientific expedition in the spring, making the 6.8-mile (11,000-meter) trip to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world ocean.

HADAL-LANDER:

This free fall lander, built in 2007, is operated by Oceanlab at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. The lander is loaded with scientific equipment—including temperature and depth sensors, a video camera, and several invertebrate traps—and dropped over the side of a ship.....[
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HADAL-LANDER:

This free fall lander, built in 2007, is operated by Oceanlab at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. The lander is loaded with scientific equipment—including temperature and depth sensors, a video camera, and several invertebrate traps—and dropped over the side of a ship. The lander settles on the seafloor, where it can remain for up to a year, and begins collecting data. When the researchers are ready to retrieve it, they send a command to the lander, triggering it to drop its weights and float to the surface. While deployed in the Japan Trench last fall, the Hadal-Lander filmed fish at 4.8 miles (7,700 meters) below the surface—the first (and, so far, only) time fish have been caught on camera at such a great depth.

DEEP FLIGHT II:

This image shows the design for Deep Flight II, the next vehicle that Hawkes Ocean Technologies plans to create. The company is currently raising the $10 million necessary to actually build the vehicle, which Graham Hawkes plans to use in his own attempt to reach the deepest point of the Mariana Trench in a program he's calling "Ocean Everest."....[
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DEEP FLIGHT II:

This image shows the design for Deep Flight II, the next vehicle that Hawkes Ocean Technologies plans to create. The company is currently raising the $10 million necessary to actually build the vehicle, which Graham Hawkes plans to use in his own attempt to reach the deepest point of the Mariana Trench in a program he's calling "Ocean Everest."

DEEP FLIGHT CHALLENGER:

The Super Falcon is the latest model in the Deep Flight line of manned submersibles from Hawkes Ocean Technologies, which is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded by ocean engineer Graham Hawkes, the company is creating a new class of lightweight, cost-effective manned ocean vehicles.....[
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DEEP FLIGHT CHALLENGER:

The Super Falcon is the latest model in the Deep Flight line of manned submersibles from Hawkes Ocean Technologies, which is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded by ocean engineer Graham Hawkes, the company is creating a new class of lightweight, cost-effective manned ocean vehicles. Like the other models in the company's fleet, the Challenger has wings. "Conventional submersibles operate like balloons, rising and sinking in the water column," says company spokesperson Karen Hawkes. "Our Deep Flight winged submersibles operate on the same principles as flight through air, not only enabling us to take advantage of the three-dimensional ocean space, but also enabling long-range exploration." The Challenger was built for adventurer Steve Fossett, who planned to set the solo dive record with the vehicle by traveling to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. At more than 6.8 miles (11,000 meters), Mariana is the deepest part of the world ocean—deeper than Mount Everest is tall. Sadly, Fossett died in a plane crash in 2007, several weeks before the craft was to undergo its first major tests.

MIR:

Owned and operated by the Russian Academy of Sciences's Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, the MIR submersibles can carry three people 3.7 miles (6,000 meters) below the surface, giving it access to 98 percent of the ocean floor.....[
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MIR:

Owned and operated by the Russian Academy of Sciences's Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, the MIR submersibles can carry three people 3.7 miles (6,000 meters) below the surface, giving it access to 98 percent of the ocean floor. There are two MIR submersibles, which can work in tandem on complicated missions. Since their launch in 1987, the MIRs have been used to do a wide variety of oceanographic research and have also traveled to famous shipwrecks, including the Titanic and the Bismarck, a German battleship sunk in World War II.

ALVIN:

Built in 1964 and still operational, Alvin is often considered to be the most productive submersible in history. Operated by Woods Hole, it can carry three people 2.8 miles (4,500 meters) below the surface, making nearly 65 percent of the ocean bottom accessible.....[
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ALVIN:

Built in 1964 and still operational, Alvin is often considered to be the most productive submersible in history. Operated by Woods Hole, it can carry three people 2.8 miles (4,500 meters) below the surface, making nearly 65 percent of the ocean bottom accessible. It can carry 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms) of samples from the seafloor and has made more than 4,000 dives—and carried more than 12,000 people—into the deep over the past four decades. Alvin has been used to recover nuclear bombs lost at sea and to make major contributions to scientists' knowledge of hydrothermal vents and the strange life-forms that live there. A $50-million, high-tech replacement for Alvin is in the early stages of being designed.